Procrastination, Perfectionism, Narcissistic Vulnerability, and Psychological Well-Being in Young Adults: An Italian Study

Procrastination is generally regarded as a dysfunctional tendency to postpone tasks, due to its consequences on performance and psychological well-being. Previous research has indicated that it is linked to perfectionism and narcissism, but with mixed results. The present study explored the interaction between procrastination, perceived parental expectations, multidimensional perfectionism, and narcissism in a sample of 548 Italian young adults aged 18-35 years (M = 23.9; SD = 4.3). Participants completed an online survey consisting of a sociodemographic questionnaire and psychometric measures assessing the constructs of interest. The results showed that: (a) procrastination was positively correlated with socially prescribed perfectionism only, which, in turn, was positively correlated with perceived parental expectations and criticism, and both narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability; (b) perceived parental expectations and criticism and narcissistic vulnerability had a positive effect on socially prescribed perfectionism, while procrastination had a negative one; and (c) narcissistic vulnerability mediated the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and procrastination. Taken together, the findings contribute to a better understanding of the link between procrastination, perfectionism, and narcissism in young adults, and highlight the relevance of contemporary parenting styles and the current sociocultural background for understanding dilatory behaviors.

"I'm so dumb and worthless right now": factors associated with heightened momentary self-criticism in daily life

Self-criticism is a trait associated with increased psychopathology, but self-criticism is also a personality state reflecting an action that people do in moments of time. In the current study, we explored factors associated with heightened self-criticism in daily life. Participants (N = 197) received five random prompts per day for one week on their mobile phones, where they reported their current affect (negative and positive affect), willpower self-efficacy, distress intolerance, degree of support and criticism from others, current context (location, activity, hunger, tiredness) and momentary self-criticism. We first demonstrated that self-criticism varies over time and across contexts, and is associated with heightened trait self-criticism. Then, using multilevel modelling, we explored the contextual factors associated with greater self-criticism. We found that self-criticism was higher when people were at home, and more tired. We also found higher self-criticism to be associated with greater negative and lower positive affect, greater distress intolerance, lower willpower and greater perceived criticism from others. In addition, self-criticism predicted subsequent distress intolerance, willpower and positive affect in lagged analyses. This study provides evidence that both environmental and psychological factors are associated with the dynamics of self-critical thoughts.

Concurrent and predictive relations of multidimensional perfectionism with test anxiety in secondary school students

Background and Objectives. Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality trait often viewed as a risk factor for developing test anxiety. A recent meta-analysis showed positive correlations of perfectionism facets with test anxiety dimensions. However, all previous research into the perfectionism-test anxiety relation has been cross-sectional. Thus, it is unclear whether perfectionism facets longitudinally predict test anxiety.Design. In this study, we investigated concurrent and predictive relations of two perfectionism facets with cognitive test anxiety (worry) and affective test anxiety (emotionality) in secondary school students (N = 478, mean age at T1 = 11.95 years). At T1, participants completed self-report measures of text anxiety and perfectionism. Almost five years later, participants again reported their test anxiety levels (T2).Results. Concern over mistakes and doubts correlated positively with current worry and emotionality. Personal standards correlated positively with current worry. Neither concern over mistakes and doubts nor personal standards significantly predicted later test anxiety beyond baseline.Conclusions. Perfectionism and test anxiety share common manifestations. Yet, this study raises the question whether perfectionism truly influences test anxiety development or whether other factors (e.g., construct overlap) may explain the identified cross-sectional correlations. Future research is needed to provide more nuanced insights into perfectionism-test anxiety associations.

Perfectionism-related variations in error processing in a task with increased response selection complexity

Perfectionists strive for a flawless performance because they are intrinsically motivated to set and achieve high goals (personal standards perfectionism; PSP) and/or because they are afraid to be negatively evaluated by others (evaluative concern perfectionism; ECP). We investigated the differential relationships of these perfectionism dimensions with performance, post-response adaptation, error processing (reflected by two components of the event-related potential: error/correct negativity - Ne/c; error/correct positivity - Pe/c) and error detection. In contrast to previous studies, we employed a task with increased response selection complexity providing more room for perfectionistic dispositions to manifest themselves. Although ECP was related to indicators of increased preoccupation with errors, high-EC perfectionists made more errors than low-EC perfectionists. This observation may be explained by insufficient early error processing as indicated by a reduced Ne/c effect and a lack of post-response adaptation. PSP had a moderating effect on the relationship between ECP and early error processing. Our results provide evidence that pure-EC perfectionists may spend many of their cognitive resources on error-related contents and worrying, leaving less capacity for cognitive control and thus producing a structural lack of error processing.

The Influence of Parental Perfectionism and Parenting Styles on Child Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a significant transdiagnostic process related to the development and maintenance of several psychological disorders. The main models of the development of perfectionism focus on early childhood experiences and postulate that parental relation is an important factor for understanding this construct in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between child and parental perfectionism, seeking to evaluate the empirical support of the Social Learning Model and the Social Expectations Model and children’s perception of parenting styles. The present study included 119 children (51.2% girls, M_age = 11.67 years) and their parents. Data were collected through administration of several self-report measures. The results show a relationship between the majority of the same parent and child perfectionism dimensions, thus providing supportive evidence for the Social Learning Model. Concerning the analysis of the role of gender in the transmission of perfectionism, observed fathers’ perfectionism only relates with the sons’ perfectionism, and mothers’ perfectionism relates with daughters’ perfectionism. Our findings allow for a deeper understanding of the role of the perception of an authoritarian parenting style in the development of maladaptive perfectionism. Mother and fathers’ perceived parenting styles contribute more to daughter than son perfectionism. The results contribute to expanding the understanding of the role of parental factors in the development of perfectionism.

An Italian adaptation of the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale: Testing measurement invariance across grade levels and exploring associations with academic achievement

This study aims to examine the properties of an Italian version of the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS), one of the most widely used instrument for the assessment of self-oriented (SOP) and socially-prescribed (SPP) perfectionism in young people. The study was conducted on two large samples of middle (n = 379, Mage = 11.31) and high school (n = 451, Mage = 15.21) students. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the expected three-factor structure, comprising SOP-Striving, SOP-Critical, and SPP. Multigroup analyses provided evidence of configural, metric, and (partial) scalar measurement invariance across grade levels. Structural invariance (i.e., the invariance of factor variances and covariances) was also established. The scale scores exhibited a differentiated pattern of relations with personality traits and academic achievement, as measured by school grades: SOP-Critical and SPP were positively related to neuroticism and have adverse effects on grades of middle and high school students, respectively. SOP-Striving, by contrast, was positively related to conscientiousness and predicted higher grades. The SOP-Striving-achievement relation was consistent across grade levels and held even after controlling for individual differences in conscientiousness and neuroticism. In sum, results from this study establish sound psychometric properties for an Italian version of the CAPS, providing support for the dual nature of self-oriented perfectionism among adolescents of different ages.

Endogenous Modulation of Pain: The Role of Exercise, Stress, and Cognitions in Humans

BACKGROUND

Pain is a complex and highly subjective phenomenon that can be modulated by several factors. On the basis of results from experimental and clinical studies, the existence of endogenous pain modulatory mechanisms that can increase or diminish the experience of pain is now accepted.

METHODS

In this narrative review, the pain modulatory effects of exercise, stress, and cognitions in humans are assessed.

RESULTS

Experimental studies on the effect of exercise have revealed that pain-free participants show a hypoalgesic response after exercise. However, in some patients with chronic pain, this response is reduced or even hyperalgesic in nature. These findings will be discussed from a mechanistic point of view. Stress is another modulator of the pain experience. Although acute stress may induce hypoalgesia, ongoing clinical stress has detrimental effects on pain in many patients with chronic pain conditions, which have implications for the understanding, assessment, and treatment of stress in patients with pain. Finally, cognitive strategies play differing roles in pain inhibition. Two intuitive strategies, thought suppression and focused distraction, will be reviewed as regards experimental, acute, and chronic pain.

CONCLUSION

On the basis of current knowledge on the role of exercise, stress, and cognitive pain control strategies on the modulation of pain, implications for treatment will be discussed.

Multidimensional Models of Perfectionism and Procrastination: Seeking Determinants of Both

Background: Perfectionism is currently conceptualized using a multidimensional model, with extensive research establishing the presence of both maladaptive and adaptive forms. However, the potential adaptability of procrastination, largely considered as a maladaptive construct, and its possible developmental connection to perfectionism remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the individual differences of the multidimensional models of both perfectionism and procrastination, as well as investigating potential links between the two constructs. Methods: A convenience sample of 206 undergraduate students participated in this study. Participants completed a questionnaire consisting of 236 questions regarding the variables under investigation. Results: The adaptive model of procrastination yielded largely insignificant results and demonstrated limited links with adaptive perfectionism, while maladaptive procrastination was consistently associated with maladaptive perfectionism, lending further evidence of a unidimensional model of procrastination. Conclusions: Many previous findings regarding the multidimensional model of perfectionism were replicated, along with new contributions focusing on the dual-process model and temporal orientation.

A Virtuous Appraisal of Heritable Genome Editing

The ethics of heritable genome editing (HGE), or germline engineering, are currently being debated vigorously among scientists and bioethicists, and the Catholic Church has declared the procedure to be morally illicit. While these judgments are based mostly on the justice and consequences of the act, a fruitful approach is to consider HGE from the perspective of the virtuous Christian. This article examines participation in HGE according to the virtues of charity, justice, hope, faith, fortitude, temperance, and prudence. HGE does not appear to be consonant with the virtuous life of a Christian person.

SUMMARY

The article evaluates heritable genome editing (HGE or genetic engineering of embryos) according to the Christian virtues of charity, justice, hope, faith, fortitude, temperance, and prudence. HGE does not seem to be consonant with the virtuous life of a Christian person.

Relationships between perfectionism, self-report impulsivity measures and delay discounting

Perfectionism and impulsivity are multidimensional constructs. While different perfectionism dimensions are exclusively measured through self-reports, different impulsivity dimensions can be measured through self-report or behaviour via preferences for different rewards. This study explored differential associations between perfectionism and impulsivity based on both dimension and measurement modality (self-report/behavioural). We then examined whether adaptive or maladaptive perfectionism would be differentially associated with impulsivity. Two-hundred and six students completed two perfectionism and three impulsivity measures (two self-report; one behavioural). Two self-report impulsivity measures were associated with specific perfectionism dimensions, whereas the behavioural measure was not associated with perfectionism. Maladaptive perfectionism was associated with decreasing impulsivity, whereas adaptive perfectionism was associated with increasing impulsivity. Perfectionism related to impulsivity differently depending on how each construct was measured.

Attachment in OCD: A meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

It has been proposed to extend the cognitive-behavioural model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with attachment theory to shed light on the affective and developmental factors underlying the disease. With a growing number of empirical studies on the subject, this meta-analysis aims to quantify a possible relationship between attachment insecurity and OCD.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted for studies in adult populations of patients with OCD as well as general populations displaying symptoms of OCD. Effect sizes of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were calculated separately. Covariates of demographic variables were used in meta-regressions.

RESULTS

Sixteen studies were included. Meta-analyses showed an association of medium to large effect size (Hedges' g = 0.69; 95 % CI 0.58 - 0.80; p < 0.001) between OCD and attachment anxiety, and an association of medium effect size (Hedges' g = 0.47; 95 % CI 0.39 - 0.54; p < 0.001) between OCD and attachment avoidance. Effect sizes in OCD population and general population studies did not differ significantly.

DISCUSSION

Robust effect sizes of both attachment anxiety and avoidance in relation to OCD symptomatology corroborate an attachment-centred view of OCD. These findings furthermore suggest that integrating cognitive and attachment-based therapeutic approaches to OCD may benefit patients in which developmental or emotional factors hinder successful treatment.

The Misunderstood Schema of the Strong Black Woman: Exploring Its Mental Health Consequences and Coping Responses Among African American Women

The internalization of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema is associated with negative psychological outcomes. However, not much is known about the mechanisms through which this schema leads to poor health. We examined the direct associations between the SBW schema and depression, anxiety, and loneliness. We also tested four mediators—maladaptive perfectionism, self-compassion, and two Africultural coping strategies of collective coping and spiritual coping—between the schema and psychological outcomes. Moreover, we examined serial mediation effects. A total of 222 African American women participated in an online survey. Structural equation modeling was conducted, and after controlling for age, family income, and level of education, the direct associations were supported, and the mediator roles of maladaptive perfectionism, self-compassion, and collective coping but not spiritual coping were supported. For serial mediation effects, the SBW schema was first positively associated with maladaptive perfectionism, which was associated with low self-compassion and low use of collective coping, which in turn were correlated with negative psychological outcomes. Racial, economic, and structural inequalities that maintain the SBW schema need to be examined and removed. Clinical interventions should focus on reducing maladaptive perfectionism and increasing self-compassion and collective coping among those who have internalized the schema. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684319883198

Influences of perfectionism and motivational climate on attitudes towards doping among Korean national athletes: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

The motives for elite athletes to dope are related primarily to maintaining and improving their physical performance. Especially, elite athletes training to compete in the Olympics may feel unique situational pressure, which may in turn induce powerful motivation for doping and predict doping behavior. This study aimed to investigate possible factors associated with attitudes towards doping in Korean national athletes who competed in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

METHODS

A total of 198 athletes (95 female, 103 male) completed the questionnaire, which covered demographic information, doping-related experiences, Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS), Perfectionism in Sports Scale (PSS; coach's criticism, concern over mistakes, and personal standards), and Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ-2; ego-involving and task-involving climates). Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to identify correlations among PEAS, PSS, and PMCSQ-2 scores, and stepwise multiple linear regression was performed to investigate possible factors significantly associated with attitudes towards doping.

RESULTS

The coach's criticism of PSS was slightly or weakly related to the concern over mistakes of PSS and the ego-involving climate of PMCSQ-2, respectively. And the concern over mistakes sub-scale of perfectionism was related to attitudes towards doping, but weakly.

CONCLUSIONS

Effective anti-doping policy should meet athletes' perfectionism, and more studies that identify other factors that influence athletes' doping attitudes are needed.

When Mothers and Fathers Are Seen as Disproportionately Valuing Achievements: Implications for Adjustment Among Upper Middle Class Youth

High achievement expectations and academic pressure from parents have been implicated in rising levels of stress and reduced well-being among adolescents. In this study of affluent, middle school youth, we examined how perceptions of parents' emphases on achievement (relative to prosocial behavior) influenced youth's psychological adjustment and school performance, and examined perceived parental criticism as a possible moderator of this association. The data were collected from 506 (50 % female) middle school students from a predominately white, upper middle class community. Students reported their perceptions of parents' values by rank ordering a list of achievement- and prosocial-oriented goals based on what they believed was most valued by their mothers and fathers for them (the child) to achieve. The data also included students' reports of perceived parental criticism, internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and self-esteem, as well as school-based data on grade point average and teacher-reported classroom behavior. Person-based analyses revealed six distinct latent classes based on perceptions of both mother and father emphases on achievement. Class comparisons showed a consistent pattern of healthier child functioning, including higher school performance, higher self-esteem, and lower psychological symptoms, in association with low to neutral parental achievement emphasis, whereas poorer child functioning was associated with high parental achievement emphasis. In variable-based analyses, interaction effects showed elevated maladjustment when high maternal achievement emphasis coexisted with high (but not low) perceived parental criticism. Results of the study suggest that to foster early adolescents' well-being in affluent school settings, parents focus on prioritizing intrinsic, prosocial values that promote affiliation and community, at least as much as, or more than, they prioritize academic performance and external achievement; and strive to limit the amount of criticism and pressure they place on their children.

Interpersonal trauma, attachment insecurity and anxiety in an inpatient psychiatric population

Current research suggests that interpersonal trauma has an impact on insecure attachment and anxiety. Some research further suggests that attachment may play a mediating role between traumatic events and psychopathology. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the experience of interpersonal trauma, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance and clinical anxiety severity among adult psychiatric inpatients who reported having experienced interpersonal trauma after the age of 16. It was hypothesized that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance would mediate the relationship between interpersonal trauma and clinical anxiety level. This study used archival data on 414 adult psychiatric inpatients in a large city in the Southwest U.S. Results suggest that interpersonal trauma was correlated to attachment avoidance but not to attachment anxiety and that attachment avoidance partially mediated the relation of interpersonal trauma to anxiety. The attachment framework appositely explains how a negative model of other contributes to the relation between experiences of interpersonal trauma and anxiety in adulthood.

Adolescent Attachment Trajectories with Mothers and Fathers: The Importance of Parent-Child Relationship Experiences and Gender

This longitudinal study investigated how attachment with mothers and fathers changes during adolescence, and how gender and parent-child relationship experiences are associated with attachment trajectories. The relative importance of specific positive and negative relationship experiences on attachment trajectories was also examined. An initial sample of 223 adolescents reported on relationship experiences and attachment avoidance and anxiety with mothers and fathers in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 (final N=110; Mage=11.90 years at onset, SD=.43). Mothers and fathers reported on relationship experiences with adolescents. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that security with parents increased during adolescence. Positive relationship experiences (companionship, satisfaction, approval, support) predicted increases in security and negative experiences (pressure, criticism) predicted decreases in security. Females reported less avoidance than males.

Perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in junior athletes

Recent theory and research suggest that perfectionism is a personal factor contributing to athletes' vulnerability to doping (using banned substances/drugs to enhance sporting performance). So far, however, no study has examined what aspects of perfectionism suggest a vulnerability in junior athletes. Employing a cross-sectional design, this study examined perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in 129 male junior athletes (mean age 17.3 years) differentiating four aspects of perfectionism: perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, parental pressure to be perfect, and coach pressure to be perfect. In the bivariate correlations, only parental pressure showed a positive relationship with positive doping attitudes. In a multiple regression analysis controlling for the overlap between the four aspects, perfectionistic strivings additionally showed a negative relationship. Moreover, a structural equation model examining the relationships between all variables suggested that coach pressure had a negative indirect effect on attitudes towards doping via perfectionistic strivings. The findings indicate that perceived parental pressure to be perfect may be a factor contributing to junior athletes' vulnerability to doping, whereas perfectionistic strivings may be a protective factor.

Maladaptive Perfectionism

This study aimed to explore how the life history of suicide victims with no history of treatment in mental health care or of attempted suicide seemed to presdispose them to maladaptive perfectionism. The study is part of an ongoing psychological autopsy study. It aimed to produce a phenomenological understanding of the vulnerability to suicide related to perfectionism, based on the life history of six male suicide victims aged 22 to 58. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyze the interview data of 41 key informants. Three main themes emerged: (a) exposure to high expectations combined with little recognition and warmth; (b) reduced ability to cope with failures and weaknesses; and (c) fear of emotional rejection. Together these themes illustrate that feelings of shame, mainly resulting from an unfulfilled need for attachment, a desire for love and recognition may relate to maladaptive perfectionism, which influences the suicidal process. The results may have important implications for suicide prevention programs.

The Developmental Origins of Personality Factors from the Self-Definitional and Relatedness Domains: A Review of Theory and Research

This paper reviews theory and research on the developmental origins of several widely studied personality vulnerabilities to psychopathology that represent the self-definitional (self-criticism, autonomy, and perfectionism) or relatedness (dependency and sociotropy) domains identified in Blatt's (2008) , Blatt and Shichman's (1983) , and Beck's ( Beck et al., 1983 ) 2-polarities models of personality. We examine the evidence for the effects of both parenting and peer relationships. We conclude that there is a robust relationship between negative parenting behaviors and the 5 personality vulnerabilities reviewed here which pertain to both self-definition and relatedness, with recent evidence suggesting a possible effect of peer relationships over and above parents. The available evidence suggests that all of the negative developmental experiences studied to date contribute to the development of all the personality vulnerabilities reviewed here. In light of this, we suggest possible mechanisms through which adverse developmental experiences may affect personality factors pertaining to self-definition and relatedness. We also suggest that there may be commonalities across the developmental experiences, such that they result in similar developmental consequences. Although there is now much research on the development of these personality factors, there is still relatively little research examining the roles of factors other than parents and peers, including siblings, romantic partners, environmental changes, and genetics, and we conclude by proposing a revised model of the development of self-definition and relatedness in order to outline future directions for this research field.

The role of socially prescribed perfectionism in the link between perceived racial discrimination and African American adolescents' depressive symptoms

Research examining the social origins of perfectionism has focused on negative evaluative experiences in the family, with less attention to negative social evaluations in other contexts and situations relevant for African American adolescents. The experience of racial discrimination is common for African American youth, and may trigger maladaptive perfectionistic beliefs if the youth perceive that they do not meet others' standards (socially prescribed perfectionism) or internalize discriminatory messages. Thus, the present study examined longitudinal associations among racial discrimination, socially prescribed perfectionism, and depressive symptoms among a community sample of urban and predominantly low income African American adolescents (n = 492; 46.7 % female). In each of grades 7, 8 and 9, participants reported their experiences with racial discrimination, perfectionistic beliefs, and depressive symptoms. Analyses revealed that experiences with racial discrimination in grade 7 were associated with socially prescribed perfectionism in grade 8 which, in turn, was linked with depressive symptoms in grade 9. Results suggest that prospective associations between the experience of racial discrimination and depressive symptoms are due, in part, to increased socially prescribed perfectionism. Implications for interventions targeting depression in African American are discussed.

The role of perfectionism in daily self-esteem, attachment, and negative affect

This study of university students (64 men, 99 women) examined the role of self-critical (SC) and personal standards (PS) higher order dimensions of perfectionism in daily self-esteem, attachment, and negative affect. Participants completed questionnaires at the end of the day for 7 consecutive days. Trait and situational influences were found in the daily reports of self-esteem, attachment, and affect. In contrast to PS perfectionism, SC perfectionism was strongly related to aggregated daily reports of low self-esteem, attachment fears (fear of closeness, fear of dependency, fear of loss), and negative affect as well as instability indexes of daily self-esteem, attachment, and negative affect. Multilevel modeling indicated that both SC and PS perfectionists were emotionally reactive to decreases in self-esteem, whereas only SC perfectionists were emotionally reactive to increases in fear of closeness with others. These results demonstrate the dispositional and moderating influences of perfectionism dimensions on daily self-esteem, attachment, and negative affect.

Interpersonal and intrapersonal links to body appreciation in college women: an exploratory model

Based on theory and findings from qualitative and quantitative research, we developed and investigated a model of positive body image. This model placed body appreciation in a mediating role, linking interpersonal (caregiver eating messages, adult attachment) and intrapersonal (perfectionism) variables to intuitive eating and depressive symptoms. Path analysis supported our model for 249 college women. Restrictive/critical caregiver eating messages, attachment anxiety, and discrepancy (maladaptive) perfectionism inversely predicted body appreciation, while order (adaptive) perfectionism positively predicted body appreciation. In turn, body appreciation positively predicted intuitive eating but not depressive symptoms. Body appreciation was upheld as a mediator: discrepancy perfectionism, attachment anxiety, and restrictive/critical caregiver eating messages inversely predicted intuitive eating largely through their negative connection with body appreciation. These findings underscore the importance of women's internalized messages about eating, weight, and relationships to their capacity to appreciate their body and respect it by eating according to its internal hunger/satiety cues.

Sex differences in romantic attachment: a meta-analysis

This article presents the first meta-analysis of sex differences in the avoidance and anxiety dimensions of adult romantic attachment, based on 113 samples (N = 66,132) from 100 studies employing two-dimensional romantic attachment questionnaires (Experiences in Close Relationships, Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, and Adult Attachment Questionnaire). Overall, males showed higher avoidance and lower anxiety than females, with substantial between-study heterogeneity. Sex differences were much larger in community samples (bivariate D = .28) than in college samples (D = .12); web-based studies showed the smallest sex differences (D = .07) in the opposite direction. Sex differences also varied across geographic regions (overall Ds = .10 to .34). Sex differences in anxiety peaked in young adulthood, whereas those in avoidance increased through the life course. The relevance of these findings for evolutionary models of romantic attachment is discussed, and possible factors leading to underestimation of sex differences are reviewed.

Perfectionism as a mediator between perceived criticism and eating disorders

OBJECTIVE

In this work we aimed to test the hypothesis that perfectionism plays a third variable role in the psychological process leading from perceived criticism to eating disorders (ED).

METHOD

Forty-nine individuals with ED and 49 controls completed the Concern over Mistakes subscale of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Perceived Criticism Inventory, and the Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, and Body Dissatisfaction subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory. Mediational and moderational models were tested.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed that perfectionism mediates between perceived criticism and drive for thinness. Results for bulimia and body dissatisfaction were controversial. Moderational models were rejected.

DISCUSSION

Results suggest that restrictive dieting is related to a process in which perceived criticism is the initial factor and perfectionism is an intervening mediator.

[Is setting high personal standard really adaptive?: adult attachment style is a moderator]

Perfectionism is usually reported to have adverse affects on psychological health, but recent multidimensional research indicated that a "tendency to set high personal standards" is weakly correlated with reduced depressiveness. The present study categorized subjects using a cluster analysis with factors closely related to psychological health such as adult attachment styles and perfectionism, and examined each factor's contributions to psychological health. Among subjects with high personal standards, the study found a group with a secure attachment style who are psychologically adaptive and another group with a non-secure attachment style who are maladaptive. The results suggest that setting high personal standards by itself does not promote psychological health, but rather that there is an interaction with other factors such as preoccupation with one's mistakes and doubting one's own actions which also influence psychological health.

Perfectionism and peer relations among children with obsessive-compulsive disorder

The study examined perfectionism, symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression, and peer relationships among a clinical sample of 31 youth (age range 7-18 years) diagnosed with OCD. Using a correlational design, perfectionistic beliefs accounted for significant variance in OCD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and difficulties in peer relationships for children with OCD. One dimension of perfectionism, sensitivity to mistakes, was the most salient maladaptive aspect of perfectionism for this sample whereas another dimension, contingent self-esteem, emerged as the most salient adaptive dimension. Implications are discussed regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and developmental course of OCD among children and adolescents.

Positive conceptions of perfectionism: approaches, evidence, challenges

Almost 30 years ago, Hamachek (1978) suggested that 2 forms of perfectionism be distinguished, a positive form labeled "normal perfectionism" and a negative form labeled "neurotic perfectionism." Focusing on the positive, we present an overview of the different empirical conceptions of the 2 forms of perfectionism and a common framework for the 2 basic approaches: the dimensional approach differentiating 2 dimensions of perfectionism (perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns) and the group-based approach differentiating 2 groups of perfectionists (healthy perfectionists and unhealthy perfectionists). Moreover, we review the evidence demonstrating that (a) perfectionistic strivings are associated with positive characteristics and (b) healthy perfectionists show higher levels of positive characteristics compared to unhealthy perfectionists and nonperfectionists. Although questions on core facets, positive effects, and developmental antecedents of positive forms of perfectionism remain, our findings suggest that self-oriented perfectionistic strivings are positive, if perfectionists are not overly concerned about mistakes and negative evaluations by others.